Sheinbaum Says No Migrant Caravan Has Reached US Border Under Trump
Mexico's president answers Trump's threat to double tariffs over migrant caravans, saying the INM handles them. See what she said about two caravans.
President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said on Thursday, Nov. 12, that no migrant caravan has reached Mexico’s northern border since Donald Trump took office as U.S. president. She was responding to his threat, made the same day, to double tariffs on Mexico if the caravans heading toward the United States are not stopped, according to El Universal.
Speaking at her morning press conference at Palacio Nacional, Sheinbaum ruled out repression against the people in the caravans. The Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM, Mexico’s immigration institute) will handle them, she said.
What Sheinbaum said about the caravans
“Since President Trump came to government, no migrant caravan has arrived at the northern border,” she said, as quoted by El Universal. She added that roughly 10 caravans or more have formed over the past two years, and that while they travel, migrants receive minimal care that respects their human rights. In her words, the INM has “a lot of experience” and the caravans need no special handling.
The Guardia Nacional (National Guard) and other institutions have experience as well, she said, describing their role as accompanying and informing the migrants rather than violent repression.
Two caravans on the road
Sheinbaum said two caravans exist at the moment. One is in Arriaga, Chiapas. It formed with roughly 500 to 600 people, she said, and fewer than 100 remain. The other is coming from Honduras, and she said it should also be dealt with from Honduras, since that is where it starts. It will get the same humanitarian treatment based on human rights as other groups of people who enter Mexico, she said. She also said some people deceive migrants.
The government tells people in the caravans that reaching the United States is very difficult and, in her words, not possible. It looks for ways to return them safely to their home countries. Anyone who wants to stay in Mexico can do so under certain conditions and in a designated place, she said. According to Sheinbaum, most choose that path once they learn they will not be able to cross the border from Mexico into the United States.
What this means for Mexico
Trump’s threat was to double tariffs on Mexico immediately. Sheinbaum answered it by saying Mexican authorities already manage the caravans. Her statements describe the current approach: care and information along the route, and offers of safe return or a conditional stay in Mexico.
For people in Chiapas, one of the two caravans is in Arriaga, where the group has shrunk from roughly 500 to 600 people to fewer than 100.
Source: El Universal
